Wednesday, June 26, 2013

More Cronin


Here's an in-studio performance by Mikal Cronin at WNYC's Soundcheck.  As described on the Soundcheck website:
"After years playing bass with lo-fi rocker Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin is stepping into his own spotlight and has proven he's more than a singularly talented sideman.  The San Francisco-based songwriter plays practically every instrument on MCII, a power pop record driven by layers of crunchy guitars and earworm hooks so singable they can be difficult to get out of your head.  That said, Cronin's real strength is his ability to write deeply personal and introspective songs that can still rock hard."

Monday, June 24, 2013

Mikal Cronin at The Earl, June 23, 2013


So now that Season Three of Game of Thrones is over, it's safe to go out to shows on Sunday nights again.  Case in point: last night, I went back to the redoubtable Earl to see Mikal Cronin perform.  Opening the evening's set was Atlanta band Del Venicci. 


We last saw Del Venicci just a couple of weeks ago at the Artlantis event in Druid Hills.  Although their Artlantis set was fine, last night's show was a much better performance, if for no other reason than the better amplification and other equipment at their disposal in the club as opposed to the front steps of a Baptist church.  Bonus points for the standing drummer.

Photos are posted over on the Flickr page.  Here's a video of Del Venicci produced by Elise Tippins of Featureless Ghost.


Shannon and the Clams, the next act, are touring with Mikal Cronin and currently have an LP on the CMJ Top 20.  



To say that this Oakland, California trio has a retro sound would be an understatement.  Having just blogged about the music of the 1950s, I found it interesting to listen to songs that weren't even informed by early Beatles, much less anything that came afterwards.  The band would not have sounded too out of place playing a sock hop in 1959 and even my Hound Dog-loving parents would not have been surprised by much of their set, although I will admit that the lyrics to I Don't Want to Be In A Cult No More would probably have bewildered them a little.


It would be easy to dismiss them as a novelty act, but the audience around me loved them, cheering and dancing to every song.  In fact, it looked like several of the younger crowd were there to see The Clams, and  were just hanging around afterwards for headliner Mikal Cronin.

Cronin wrapped up the evening with some glorious garage-pop songs full of catchy hooks.  Cronin  (background below) played 12-string rhythm guitar and included another fine guitarist (foreground) to handle the leads.  The band was completed by a bassist and a terrific female drummer.


Mikal Cronin's sound has been undergoing a sort of metamorphosis of late.  Songs on his latest album, MC II, have a more polished, pop sounds than the earlier, scruffier material like Apathy.  It was great to hear both sides of the performer last night.






To give you an idea of the energy level, at one point his guitarist simultaneously broke two strings on his guitar, and had to borrow a guitar from Shannon and The Clams to finish the set.


A subtle point, but one very much appreciated by this old man - even including one encore, Cronin wrapped up the evening before midnight.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Music Midtown


This is just pathetic.  Let it be hereby noted that with the announcement of this year's line-up for Music Midtown, the standard-bearer for exciting, new music has now officially been passed to the Shaky Legs  Festival.  

Journey?  Really?  As a headliner?  You'd have to pay me $110 (the cost of a 2-day pass) to go to to a festival that had Journey headlining, and even then I still might not go.  Not to mention Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction.  Last year's headliners of Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam were bad enough, but what is this, Lollapalooza 1992?  At the rate we're going, we'll get Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots next year.  News flash to promoter Peter Conlon:  the 90s ended 13 1/2 years ago.  

I'll admit there are a few good bands in the lineup (The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Reignwolf, The Mowgli's), but not any great, must-see bands.  The cool kids will be staying away from this one in droves.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Christopher Owens at The Earl, Atlanta, June 19, 2013


Last night, Christopher Owens, formerly of the band Girls and currently America's greatest living songwriter, put on a remarkable solo show at the redoubtable Earl. 


The show was truly solo in every sense of the word.  Not only did Owens play unaccompanied, just him on the stage with a guitar and occasional harmonica, but there were no opening acts, just Owens alone for 90 minutes.  The event was billed as "An Evening With Christopher Owens" and the Earl's stage was as barren as I've ever seen it.  The drum riser was moved up to the front of the stage and there were no drum kits or amps anywhere to be seen, just Owens sitting on a chair behind a mike.  

For the uninitiated, Owens was formally the frontman for the fine band Girls, but after that endeavor broke up, he released a solo album titled Lysandre, followed by a stripped-down acoustic version of the same album, offered for free download from his web site. Last night's performance was of the stripped-down, acoustic versions of the material.


The evening was truly magical.  Despite the set's simplicity, Owens had the small audience spellbound and attentive throughout as he spun out his lovely and sensitive songs.  Up until the encore, there was almost no stage banter other than the occasional "thank you" for the rapturous applause.  Instead, he simply let the songs speak for themselves, even as the performer himself often seemed to hide behind the hair falling in his face. One got a strong sense that the shy and sensitive person on the stage was baring his soul through his carefully crafted songs.  He exuded a vulnerability that only strengthened the bond between the exposed performer and the protective audience.


Owens clearly has a mastery of pop conventions, and is able to suggest larger arrangements of the songs through just a few well timed notes, even to those who weren't familiar with the full treatments in the original Lysandre album.  Most notably, he managed to keep all of the songs from sounding alike over the 90 minutes of his set, despite the spare instrumentation.  He covered almost all of the Lysandre material and threw in plenty of Girls songs as well, including notable covers of Lust For Life and Hunny Bunny, although sadly no new version of the Girls masterpiece song Vomit. 

He closed his set with a cover of the old song Smile ("Smile though your heart is aching, Smile even though it's breaking, When there are clouds in the sky you'll get by if you smile").  Somehow, it seemed like the perfect song to wrap up his happy/sad set. 

It truly was a special evening, and a performance I'm not likely to forget anytime soon.